


The Search for a Crow

by Spaceinmyhead



Series: In Regards To Souls [5]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Compliant, Gen, Getting to Know Each Other, Social Anxiety
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:22:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28083114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spaceinmyhead/pseuds/Spaceinmyhead
Summary: Now in the City of Mistral, Oscar and Ozpin now have to find Qrow. However, finding a feather in a haystack isn't as easy as some may say it is.
Relationships: Ozpin & Oscar Pine
Series: In Regards To Souls [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2047118
Comments: 4
Kudos: 63





	The Search for a Crow

“There are so many people here” Oscar whispers to Ozpin next to him, his eyes flitting between the mass of people around him and his mentor.

“Yes, there is. Keep your things close to you and follow me.” 

He didn’t protest and followed Ozpin through the crowd. Occasionally, he had to grab the back of the other man's coat in order to not get pulled by the masses. It might have looked weird to anyone looking at him, but he really didn’t care. 

All of his life had been spent on a farm, with his only interactions with groups of people being the times he was tasked with going into town to get groceries. And even then, his home town was small and there were never more than 10 people in one place. 

So this? This was scary.

“Where are we going?” Oscar asked after they’d left most of the crowd behind on the train platform.

Ozpin slowed down to walk next to him instead of in front of him. 

“We need to go find the most likely place where we could find Qrow, which is, unfortunately, a bar.”

Oscar grimace. “Ah.”

“Not the most ideal of things, but at least it’s a start. I’m hoping that he would’ve set up closer to the academy, so we’ll search the bars around there first.” 

He stopped for a moment and looked around. Oscar looked around too and couldn’t see anything of significance. 

So he decided to ask. “Why did we stop?”

“You need food. I remember a good cafe in this area, but for the life of me I can’t remember its exact location…” He trailed off.

“Want to look it up on my scroll?” Oscar asked, pulling his scroll out of his pocket and turning it on. 

“Ah yes, that would be grand. Its name is the Lucky Tadpole. I visited it a few times with my close group when we came to meet Leo, the headmaster here at Haven.”

Oscar nodded as he typed in the name. “Looks like we’re only a few streets away from it.” 

When he looked up from his scroll Ozpin was grinning. “Then let's head there. While I myself can’t eat, the atmosphere there was still incredible.”

Oscar’s grumbling stomach agreed with the idea of food, so the two of them set off down the streets of Mistral. 

Once they got further and further away from the train station the number of people started to lessen, and Oscar finally felt like he could breathe.

Now that he wasn’t panicking, he took the time to actually look around at Mistral.

It was (incredible). The sheer cliffs that surrounded the city had waterfalls cascading down them, and he could see some buildings built into the cliffside itself. The buildings they passed were all large and impressive. Each of them different in their own way.

“Isn't it nice?” Ozpin asked, presumably seeing Oscar looking around.

“Yeah, it is. Has it always been this way?” 

Ozpin sighed. “Unfortunately no. This city was one of the major areas impacted by the war, so it practically had to build from the ground up. However, it has flourished because of it.”

“Is it weird? Looking at places like these and remembering them from the past?” Oscar asked as he tore his attention away from the houses around them.

“I suppose so. All of the memories tend to overlap in a way, so when I look at this city I remember it before the war, and during the war all at once. Sometimes it can be disorienting, but that goes away with practice.”

Oscar just hummed as they returned to silence. 

They didn’t talk much as Oscar ate, both of them preferring to gaze out the window at the passing people. 

When Oscar finally finished his food and pushed his plate away, he figured they should start figuring out a plan. 

“When should we head out to find Qrow?” He asked Ozpin.

“Well, it’s just after lunch now. If I remember Qrow and his awful drinking habit, he should head to a bar at around 8 pm. Which means we have about 7 hours to waste.”

Oscar sighed. He had hoped they wouldn’t have to wait. 

“What do we do until then?” 

“I suppose we head up near the academy and then just walk around. There are some good shops up there, and you may find something that interests you.”

Oscar doubted that but didn’t oppose the idea. It sounded much better than sitting and doing nothing for 7 hours. 

“Then we should head out now,” He said as he stood up, plate in hand. 

He winced when he looked over and saw a lady giving him a funny look. He must’ve been talking too loud. Being around people was going to be tough.

“Yes. We’ll need to head to one of the lift depots to catch a lift up there though, as it takes hours to get there by foot.”

Oscar nodded. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

After he put his plate over by the trash, they headed out the door.

The air here was so much different than it was back on the farm. There, the chill of autumn was clear as day, and he couldn’t go outside without shivering if he wasn’t wearing a heavy jacket.

Yet here, it felt just like summer. He’d been forced to shove his jacket away with the rest of his belongings when they were about to get off the train, and based on the fact that he was almost sweating, that seems like it was a good idea. 

“It’s so hot,” He complains to himself.

Ozpin chuckles. “It did always run a bit hotter here than you would normally think. James used to complain about it nonstop when we had meetings here. After all, Atlas is about as cold as you can get.” 

Oscar grins when he thinks about it. The stoic man he’d seen on his scroll complaining about the weather. Wouldn’t that be a sight? 

“Now, we should be hurrying a bit. The lifts leave every half hour, and I doubt you’d want to wait with all of those people for that long.”

That sounds like hell. 

“Yeah, I really don’t want to do that again.”

They picked up their pace after that, Oscar once again following Ozpin since it was clear that his mentor knew where he was going. 

His nerves started to pick up again the closer they got to the city center, but he forced it down. If he was going to last on this adventure, he had to put himself in some uncomfortable situations. So in a way, this was helping him get used to that feeling. 

The lifts appeared before them, and Oscar couldn’t help but gape at the steep incline. When they were approaching Mistral he’d been able to see them, but being right up against them like this was a whole different experience. 

“Looks as if a car is on its way down. Good.” Ozpin commented as they approached the line for the incoming lift. 

“They’re so big,” Oscar said in amazement as the car drew closer and closer.

“Of course. When festivals are held up in Haven, there needs to be enough transportation to get people up there. Sometimes, when things like the Vytal festival comes around, airships are also used to alleviate some of the traffic.”

Oscar can’t even imagine that many people in one place, so he just nods. 

Once again, the two wait in silence. Oscar doesn’t really mind it, as Mistral has so much to look at from just a single spot. 

However, the line soon starts to move and he realizes that the car they were waiting for had reached the station. 

He pulled his backpack tight against himself as he moved through the line, trying his best to move fast so as to not be pushed by the people behind him. 

But eventually, he steps on and manages to find a seat. He’d taken one look at the handholds and decided he didn’t want to risk his own balance right now. 

“What stop are we getting off at?” Oscar asked Ozpin quietly when he’d situated himself in his seat. 

“Well, we’re going all the way to the top, so the last station. You’ll be able to tell which one it is, so don’t worry so much.”

Oscar nodded and then looked out the window next to him. The car hadn’t started moving yet, but he already felt like the ground was moving away. 

As if Ozpin could sense his anxiety, his hand was suddenly on his shoulder. “Everything will be okay Oscar. I know this is a very new environment for you, but you’re doing great. Once we find the others, you’ll have time to rest.”

“Yeah…” He could only hope that it would be that easy. 

The whole car lurched forward as they started their ascent. It wasn’t a bad feeling per se, but that didn’t mean he liked it. 

The 30-minute journey to the top was boring. The closer they got to the top, the more people got off, until eventually, it was only him and a few others on the way to the top. 

This puzzled him. 

“Ozpin, why are there so few people on right now? I thought you said the best stores were up here.” 

“Yes, but on weekdays like these most people are working. That, and it only gets busy up here on festival days, as I told you.”

Oscar supposed he understood, but it still felt off.

Then again, this whole situation felt off, so he couldn’t really call this anything out of the ordinary. 

Like with the other stops, the car shook to a stop. He stood up and slung his bag back on and grabbed his impromptu cane. 

Outside of the car was eerily silent compared to the city center. Only a few people could be heard every once in a while, and by the looks of it, only a few stores were actually open. It felt like a ghost town. 

“Maybe we should just start looking for him now…” Oscar suggested to Ozpin, who hummed.

“Yes, I think that would be smart. I hadn’t expected this area to be as impacted as it is. Qrow does like to wander, so there is a chance we could get lucky.” He told Oscar as he pulled to the side of the street and stopped walking. 

He furrowed his eyes as he scanned the surrounding area. “Is something wrong?” Oscar asked when he didn’t say anything for a few moments. 

“I wouldn’t exactly say wrong, but something is certainly odd. Normally I would dismiss it, but right now we don’t have the luxury of doing that.” He reached down and grabbed Oscar's arm and started walking. “We need to keep walking.” 

Oscar was a bit freaked now. He’d known the man for almost 2 months now, and this is the first time he’s seen him actually on edge. That couldn’t be a good sign. 

So he didn’t hesitate to pick up his feet and walk a bit faster. 

The sooner they could find Qrow and get Long Memory, the better he would feel. 

They found him, 4 hours later, in one of the many many bars they visited. To their luck, most places hadn’t stopped him from entering when he told them that he was looking for someone, which is exactly what led him into this bar. 

“There he is,” Ozpin said and pointed ahead of him as he stopped in the doorway, causing Oscar to stop as well. 

He followed his finger and saw the back of a man who did indeed look like his picture. He couldn’t see his face, but there was a sense of familiarity that he could only assume came from the slowly merging memories. 

“We never talked about what I should do when I find him!” Oscar whispered to Ozpin, admittedly a bit panicked. 

Sure, Qrow was supposed to help them, but that didn’t mean that Oscar knew how to talk to an actual huntsman that wasn’t the one invisible next to him.

“Just tell him that you would like your cane back” 

“Okay, here it goes,” He mumbles as he steps towards Qrow. There’s no one else in the bar, so his footsteps squeak so loudly that he cringes. 

“Umm, excuse me?” He says, trying to be loud enough that the other will hear him.

He thankfully does and turns around on his barstool to face him. 

The man isn’t as scary as he looked in his photo, and yet when he looked at Oscar in the face he couldn’t help but freeze. 

“Ya know, I don’t think they allow kids in here, pipsqueak,” The man slurs out, clearly drunk. 

Oscar just stands there, staring for a moment.

“Come on, you can do it,” Ozpin tells him, putting a hand on his shoulder again. 

Oscar rolls it off. “Shut up, I’m getting there,” 

He takes a deep breath to calm himself a bit. 

“Umm, I’m supposed to tell you, I’d like my cane back?” He forces out, wincing at how shaky his voice sounded. 

He watches as Qrows eyes grow large, and a small smile makes its way onto his face. Qrow nods as he stands up, causing Oscar to step back a few paces.

Now that the man is standing up, he’s much more intimidating and it feels more like a renowned huntsman is standing in front of him. 

Oscar is tempted to say something to break the awkward silence between them, even looking over to Ozpin to ask what to do, but the other man just shakes his head and points back to Qrow. “This is your journey Oscar, I’m just here to guide you.”

He’s tempted to let out a frustrated sigh but he stays silent, watching as Qrow unclips something from his belt. 

He is not, however, prepared for when he throws it at him with an “It’s good to see you again Oz.”

The cane lands in his hand in its compact form, which Oscar isn’t as familiar with. However, the moment it’s in his hand it extends into its full form. 

It’s exactly like Ozpin’s copy of it, however, this time it’s not slightly translucent. The weight feels perfect in his hand, much better than the stick that he had left by the doorway. 

“Congratulations Oscar, it’s time to start the real journey,” Ozpin says by his side. 

Oscar can only look at the cane in amazement. He can feel the magic flowing through it, even though it feels like it’s blocked by something. 

“Thanks…” He replied, his voice shaking a bit. 

With Qrow’s eyes still on him, he turned to properly face Ozpin. 

“Train me well,” he requests. 

“I’ll do my best.”

And that’s the best he can hope for.

**Author's Note:**

> This one is probably my least favorite I've written so far, but I do still like it! It was kind of the necessary filler part to weave the story of Ozpin and Oscar together with the Rwby & Jnr story. Next part will be the interactions of the two teams with Oscar. I hope you enjoyed this part, and the next part should be out soon! (Please let me know if there are any tags that need to be added)
> 
> Follow me on [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/spaceinmyhead13)


End file.
